Romans 4:1–25: Abraham Believed God (two sessions)
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness
See from Abraham and David that God credits righteousness apart from works, to the one who “believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (4:5), and that Abraham was credited before he was circumcised, so that he is the father of all who believe, circumcised and uncircumcised.
Outline
- Abraham believed God; wages and giftRom 4:1–5
- David: blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against himRom 4:6–8
- Credited before circumcision; the sign and seal; the father of all who believeRom 4:9–12
observation · 4
In 4:4–5, how does Paul contrast a worker's wages with a gift? Whom does God justify, according to 4:5? What is credited to the one who believes?
interpretation · 5
How should 4:1 be read: “Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,” or “what Abraham found by the flesh” (literal), or “Have we found Abraham to be our forefather according to the flesh?” (literal) Why might Jewish readers have praised Abraham for his works (compare 1 Macc 2:52, non-canonical)?
What does it mean that God “credits” righteousness (4:3–6)? Is faith itself the righteousness, or the way it is received? Read 3:24–26, 5:18–19, 2 Cor 5:21 and Phil 3:9 with 4:4–5.
Implies In 4:3–8 λογίζομαι (logizomai) is God's forensic crediting of righteousness apart from works. Implies Faith is the instrument, not the ground, and is not itself the righteousness credited. In 4:4–5 believing is set against working as the way a gift is received, not offered as a substitute work. The righteousness is God's free gift through the redemption in Christ (3:24–26); it comes through the obedience of the one man (5:18–19); in Christ believers “become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21); and it is “from God,” not “my own” (Phil 3:9).
Implies Read together with those passages, the righteousness credited in 4:3–8 is Christ's righteousness imputed to the believer. The case is set out in the approved Romans 1 imputation note (note.exegetical.Rom.1.17.imputation; Romans 1 study, s1.int.6) and is not restated here.
Uncertain The force of εἰς δικαιοσύνην (eis dikaiosynēn). The commentary leans to “as righteousness” (the LXX idiom; compare 2:26); the alternative is “with a view to righteousness” (literal), faith leading to it.
Other readings, by reference: Gundry argues that Paul speaks of faith itself reckoned as righteousness, not of Christ's righteousness imputed. Wright also denies that Paul teaches the imputation of Christ's righteousness and reads the verdict as God's declaration that the believer belongs to his people.
In 4:4–5, is Paul excluding only the works that marked Israel off (circumcision, food laws, Sabbath), or working of any kind? What does the wage picture suggest?
What does it mean that circumcision was a “seal” of a righteousness Abraham already had (4:11)? Christians have used this verse in debates about baptism. What do the two sides say?
application · 3
God “justifies the ungodly” (4:5). Where are you tempted to think God accepts you because of your record? What would it mean this week to rest on God's crediting instead of your own performance?
David calls “blessed” the one whose sin the Lord will never count against him (4:8). How does knowing your sin will not be counted against you change the way you face guilt and confession?
Abraham is “the father of all who believe,” circumcised and uncircumcised (4:11–12). How should that shape the way you welcome believers whose background differs from yours?
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits